The present invention deals with a system for quickly providing an estimated schedule for a particular contractual obligation. For example, construction contracts involving engineering, drafting, and equipment procurement. Further, the invention relates to a system for allocating manpower for each of the individual phases of the obligation, as well as overlapping phases of different contractual obligations.
The use of computers in scheduling complex and long-term construction obligations as well as manpower allocation has been utilized quite effectively by many organizations. The present invention is not intended to usurp computer functions; however, it has been found that the use of computers may be far more complicated a procedure than is necessary for certain aspects of scheduling. For example, if certain criteria are known to be effective as estimators for time and man-hour requirements for a particular job and such criteria are fairly linear over a wide range, then a rough idea for long-term scheduling can be determined with knowledge of one or two criteria, at least in the initial phases of the scheduling of the particular contractual obligation. Furthermore, if a customer requires information as to the estimated time of completion, barring unforeseen difficulties, a fairly accurate estimation can be presented so that the customer can evaluate this relative to the particular needs at that time. In addition to the foregoing, it is necessary for the contractor to allocate and project future manpower needs. By knowing what such demands will be in the future, preparation for the eventual increase or decrease in manpower can be more easily accomplished. Further, the unnecessary hiring or termination of employees is reduced significantly.
Since many of the contractual obligations involved in large construction contracts are protracted over many months and years, in certain cases computerization of the contractual and manpower allocations has become necessary. However, for certain purposes a computer print-out may be somewhat cumbersome. The present system has been developed to supplement the excellent scheduling capabilities of computer technology over a long term and provide a simple bar graph arrangement so that a rough idea of future scheduling may be anticipated, while the computer is used to solve the individual problems of scheduling.